De Lima's birthday wish from behind bars: More fortitude vs 'oppressors'

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Leila De Lima, who will turn 59 in detention on Monday, said her birthday wish is for more fortitude against her oppressors, a label that the Duterte administration rejects. 

It will be De Lima's second birthday at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center, where she has been detained on drug charges that she claims were filed for her opposition to President Rodrigo Duterte's policies.

The government insists she is being prosecuted for her alleged role in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison while she was Justice secretary to President Benigno Aquino III.

"My birthday wish is to have more fortitude to keep defying and resisting my oppressors," she said in a statement released by her office.

"I also wish for more fortitude to keep fighting the injustices done not only to me but also to others. And more fortitude to carry on the torch of hope for my family, my staff and supporters," she also said.

Calls for release

Groups like Human Rights Watch, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, and the International Parliamentary Union have called for her release, saying she is being persecuted for being an advocate of human rights.

Government officials, including former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, have dismissed these calls either as meddling in Philippine affairs or as a lack of knowledge about De Lima's case and of Philippine law.

Her office said she will mark her birthday with a simple gathering of close friends, former colleagues, members of her staff, and her relatives.

De Lima is also launching her book, "Fight for Freedom and Other Writings", a collection of her writings, speeches, letters and notes.